AT&T plans to announce new service plans customized specifically for Apple's iPhone but will not make such details public until June 29 -- the same day the device is due to launch in the United States -- an executive for the wireless carrier told USA Today.

Larry Carter, senior vice president of sales for AT&T, confirmed that his firm has added 2,000 extra retail sales people for the launch -- half of which will be there just to help handle the expected early crush of buyers.

Not all stores equal

AT&T retail stores in areas with a larger numbers of iPod users -- such as New York City, Chicago and much of California -- will be receiving larger stockpiles than stores who don't fit that demographic, he added.

"Ultimately, we will meet every customer's desire to have one," Carter told the paper.

Should certain locations sell out, the exec said sales people will take mail orders from customers, and the iPhones will be shipped in 3 to 5 days. To discourage scalpers, the carrier also plans to limit how many phones each customer can buy, but has not said how many that will be.

New service plans

Meanwhile, Carter hinted that iPhone "may offer cool features such as unlimited Web browsing." However, customers should be prepared to pay extra for that luxury.

"Regardless of which device you're using today, you pay us a certain amount for (voice) minutes, and you also pay us for data units," he said. "That is also true on the iPhone."

Network quality

Over at AT&T's network division, AT&T network services president Richard Burns says his team has been spending a lot of time on "interface testing" -- making sure the iPhone and the AT&T wireless network work together seamlessly.

Over the last few months, he says, dozens of AT&T technicians have been secretly testing iPhones -- in bars, subway stops, office buildings, rural areas and elsewhere -- looking for technical hitches.

Burns added that AT&T has spent $50 million so far adding new network components in anticipation of the additional data traffic that iPhone users will generate.

"We wanted to be ready for the initial onslaught of people," he said.

Update: iLounge reports on comments from AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel, who says AT&T won't wait until the day of iPhone’s launch to disclose rate plans for the device.

"We will disclose before the 29th," he said, noting that customers will be able to show up at stores that day knowing how much they will be charged for both the Apple-developed hardware and AT&T’s cellular service plans. “It’s not going to be anything exotic," he added.

I can personally vouch for Cingular's beefing up the EDGE network over the last few months. I regularly get 150-190 kbit/sec on my Treo now, whereas I hardly ever got more than 100k six months ago. This is in San Francisco (and on a recent trip to Oregon).

I think it's really fishy that they don't want to announce pricing for plans until the 29th. The pessimist in me thinks it's going to be more expensive than unlimited data is now. ($20 or $40, depending on when you signed up and which plan the rep coaxed you into.) I've been paying $20 a month for years now on my various Treos. I fully expected to be forced into $40 for iPhone. If it's more than that, they really are taking advantage of people, especially since I'll most likely be on WiFi 70% of the time.

The optimist in me wants to believe that the price will be slightly cheaper for data, and they are holding that info back for two reasons: To keep charging more to customers who buy other phones in the next week, and to keep what is already going to be overwhelming demand from becoming complete hysteria when they run out of phones in an hour.

No matter what, I expect to pay at least $100 a month, with taxes, etc. when all is said and done. I pay $85 a month now, and that's a really old plan I've been grandfathered into for several years.

Overpriced? I don't see how people think it's overpriced, when you look at other "smartphones", they pretty much start in the $500.00 range. It's always a choice to buy or don't buy, but when it's the small add on's that's really pinching your pockets, I think that's a ding against the customer. I want this phone, and will be getting one, in a month or so, after I see some feedback.

The thing I'm worried about with the data plans, will be the non-unlimited plans and the crazy cost of going over your given amount. If need to have some type of way to check to see how much data you've used. And going to Cingular's website to see isn't a option, because it's only updated every two or three days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by physguy

How can you be raped if its entirely your choice. Buy it/Don't buy it.

The huge majority on these boards already think the iPhone is overpriced. You're implying the plans will be too. IF that all is true it will fall on its face.

OTOH, if there is a real unmet need out there for a usable phone with 'just the right' feature set that is accessible to a much wider audience, then it won't.

Wow. I'm currently paying $45 to Sprint for my plan, which breaks down to $30 for 200 anytime talk minutes (unlimited nights & weekends), and $15 for unlimited data access on Sprint's EVDO network. I'm obviously not someone who has my phone glued to my ear all day - most of the calls I do make are nights/weekends so this plan works great for me.

I'm willing to bet that they will require you to have an unlimited data plan since the device has a WiFi card and you could get internet almost anywhere these days for free.

I should hope 450 minutes doesn't cost $99 bucks! That's a bit steep since I am paying like $90 for 400 text messages, no internet, 750 minutes/unlimited nights and weekends and nights start at 7:00. I'd like to just keep my current plan and have the WiFi internet on the side for free

I can personally vouch for Cingular's beefing up the EDGE network over the last few months. I regularly get 150-190 kbit/sec on my Treo now, whereas I hardly ever got more than 100k six months ago. This is in San Francisco (and on a recent trip to Oregon).

That's pretty good... for real-world EDGE performance.

If performance is like that in most places, perhaps the complaints about slow web-browsing will be fewer than anticipated. Hope so, for Apple's sake.

Quote:

I think it's really fishy that they don't want to announce pricing for plans until the 29th. The pessimist in me thinks it's going to be more expensive than unlimited data is now. ($20 or $40, depending on when you signed up and which plan the rep coaxed you into.)

Yeah, its not good. Why wouldn't you at least post prices the day before, so that even the first day, 'camp overnight' nutjobs can rationally evaluate the plans?

Oh wait... they're going to buy it no matter what anyway, even if the plans fleece them. Nevermind. \

I can't believe they're not going to announce plan pricing until the 29th!

This makes me think 2 things...

1. The plans for unlimited data are going to be insanely expensive. This is so people don't have time to think about their 2 year contract pricing and just buy it not thinking they have to pay $50 extra a month for 2 years.

2. The plans for unlimited data are going to be cheap ($20). This doesn't give other carriers to roll out competitive data plans to attract customers who would be interested in buying something other than the iPhone.

I'm hoping for option 2, but my guess is unlimited data isn't going to be cheap on the iPhone considering it's the "real" internet which means people are going to be using a TON of data.

Wow. I'm currently paying $45 to Sprint for my plan, which breaks down to $30 for 200 anytime talk minutes (unlimited nights & weekends), and $15 for unlimited data access on Sprint's EVDO network. I'm obviously not someone who has my phone glued to my ear all day - most of the calls I do make are nights/weekends so this plan works great for me.

My Sprint account is $100 for 2,000 minutes, as well as for the unlimited nights and weekends. As far as I'm concerned, that's as close to unlimited as I could need.

But, on that plan, I also get a second phone and user account, plus the $15 EVDO, unlimited network, as you do. I also get a third phone with the unlimited EVDO for my daughter for $35 additional, on the same minutes plan.

This includes free Tv, etc., on those phones capable of seeing it.

That seems more than fair to me.

Sprint's network speeds are pretty good on my Treo 700p, and my daughters phone, though my wife doesn't use that much.

I'm hoping that ATT's account will be similar, if I'm going to switch sometime next year.

I'm guessing "the plan" is going to be all the crowd control measures that AT&T is going to need. Giving the arrogance of AT&T's recent marketing & PR, one can only assume they are going to be overpricing by a huge factor. I fear that Apple is going to regret crawling into bed with these guys.

I hope people are capable of making a distinction between "what I'm paying now for x services" and "highway robbery if it's much more than that."

I currently pay Verizon $59 for 900 talk minutes. Somebody else might pay less to another carrier, or less for fewer talk minutes, or some modest amount for "unlimited texting", or "unlimited data" on a hand-set that isn't really set up for much thorughput, etc.

None of that has much to do with a plan from AT&T that might include, say, some number of talk minutes and "unlimited data" on a phone that by design is a big bandwidth user.

An $80 or so plan that includes some reasonable number of talk minutes and a good amount of internet time would by no means be outrageous-- it would be pretty reasonable.

$100 for same would be, let's say, not startling, while much over that would be a problem, if only as a mass-market psychology kind of thing.

A person who is paying $19 for 200 talk minutes may be taken aback by a voice/data plan that costs quite a bit more, but that doesn't mean that AT&T would be evil extortionists for charging more.

If people are happy with a few hundred talk minutes and unlimited texting with some (rarely used because it's awkward) "internet" thrown in, then they probably shouldn't be getting an iPhone, which almost certainly will be married to a voice/data plan that reflects what it is designed for.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.

That would be awesome if they had an unlimited everything plan so you wouldn't have the headache of trying to keep everything straight... but it's not going to happen.

I wish everyone could have some self-control and wait the weekend to find out more about the plans and maybe read some reviews before this thing drops. We are consumers and as such we can be judicial about the kinds of things we spend our money on. Wouldn't it be amazing if come launch day we all realized this and Apple/AT&T didn't quite get the huge response they were hoping for and we made them sweat just a little before we decided that this thing isn't worth standing in line for with a big dollar sign painted on your face?

The reason AT&T is keeping the pricing "secret" till the last minute is because exclusive to the iPhone will be an Unlimited "Everything" plan for the USA.

$100/month

That's more the Apple way of doing things : keep it simple (the "everything is included" so you don't have to worry about when/where/how much you use your phone) and charge a premium price (although it is cheaper than any other alternative if you add up everything that's included).

Well at least they didnt say they are gonna be releasing the information about the plans at 6pm. I'm hoping they will be giving out that information the morning of so it gives people time to get everything figured out. however they didn't actually say when they will be giving out that info they just said the 29th.

ps. does anyone else think its unfair they are re-opening 6pm local time?

Seeing there will probably be some slick .Mac integration, would this be rolled into the plan? It could be a good way of generating revenue for Apple. E.g. I don't use .Mac, nor do most other Mac users I know.

I figure they are still working on the cost..Apple wants this and ATT wants that...

this is apple we always know a little about what is coming, but they sometimes throw a little surprise our way...

I figure WIFI is messing the data plans up.. I know i can get Wifi every were here in Austin.. for free.. and in a few places I travel to..

I am there the first day.. I want the phone.. I am going to check it out my self.. if it trully does not fit in my budget.. then hell with it.. I figure its an ipod a phone and a web browser.. that is cool... Alot better then my stupid blackberry.. And I have Outlook web mail.. so a lot easier for me at the airport then turning on the lap top getting my sprint card out and finding an plug.

I just hope apple will take gift cards I have a few to use. at the store..

The thing of it is... a person is smart, but people are stupid. AT&T is going to charge whatever they want and you're going to pay it because Apple has made you believe you just gotta have it. That's it, case closed, end of story. Whatever price they name, you will rationalize that you want the thing anyway, so you'll pay for it. There's no point in debating price, all that's left to do is sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy the mass hysteria.

The reason AT&T is keeping the pricing "secret" till the last minute is because exclusive to the iPhone will be an Unlimited "Everything" plan for the USA.

$100/month

While *I* think this would be reasonable and an incredible (read: revolutionary) move on the part of Apple+at&t, it would be a better plan/price than *anything* that at&t currently offers. Right now at&t has no "unlimited" voice plan, and their 4000 and 6000 minute plans alone are $149 and $199 respectively. And their data plan (real data--not WAP) with 1500 text messages is $44.99.

Why would at&t offer their best plan *ever* for a phone that is going to sell itself 1000 times over?

p.s. I also think access to at&t's Wifi hotspots is going to be part of the mix which is currently an additional $20 markup on their data plan.

The thing of it is... a person is smart, but people are stupid. AT&T is going to charge whatever they want and you're going to pay it because Apple has made you believe you just gotta have it. That's it, case closed, end of story. Whatever price they name, you will rationalize that you want the thing anyway, so you'll pay for it. There's no point in debating price, all that's left to do is sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy the mass hysteria.

I think carriers are wary of "unlimited" talk time for fear that teens will just stay on the phone 24/7 whether they're talking or not.

They've got that covered. It's called dropped call. I don't think anyone has ever actually completed a cell phone conversation of more than 5 minutes. Even Verizon to Verizon with maximum signal strength still drops regularly in my experience.

Unlimited Voice would be cool. I'm with Verizon right now just like everyone else and INcalling is practically like Unlimited Voice already. I know if I switched carriers I wouldn't get INcalling anymore, but if my end still "feels unlimited" who cares about the people I call and how long I talk to them?

For me, the web browsing speeds on this thing better be adequete enough to make me not decide to wait for the 3G version with more "gigs" that we know is already on the way.

But if you kiddies think AT&T is going to drop $50verylarge on upgrading EDGE and not set up an in-store collection box for first born children, I think you've hit the cool-aid too early.